Twilight of the Gods

"Seiyaah!"

Together with her battle cry, Ria's katana cut an angel in two.

A devil that tried to rake its claws against her defenseless back was sliced apart by Carla's holy sword.

"As expected… there are a lot of them."

"Yes. Our mana recovery is slow as well."

After descending to Earth, the two had been fighting together as a pair against gods, devils, and mysteries.

At first, Ria had been using Gallach, but since the consumption was far too great, she was now using an ordinary katana.

That said, it was not just Kotetsu. She had borrowed some of the finest masterwork swords and the Five Swords Under Heaven from Japan's sword museum amid the chaos.

"As expected, Dojigiri Yasutsuna cuts wonderfully."

Demons, apparitions, angels, devils—she sliced apart all existences born from human imagination.

The one guarding her back was Carla. Once she realized this would be a prolonged battle, she conserved her mana as much as possible.

"Nee-chan, you doing okay?"

And beside the two was a single Machine God.

Originally, it was supposed to be used by Ferna, but it had been readjusted for Serge's use.

Serge, who had thought he would only be a burden with his own strength alone, was now participating on the front lines thanks to this.

That said, all he really did was forcibly send any surviving humans he found to the other world.

"Ria, something that looks like a giant snake is coming from over there."

When she looked toward the direction Carla indicated, there was a snake several kilometers long flying toward them. Its distinctive feature was probably the wings growing from its body.

"Quetzalcoatl…"

"What's that?"

"A god that existed in the Americas before the white settlers arrived. I think it was supposed to be a benevolent god."

"Either way, it's still an enemy."

Switching her weapon back to Gallach, Ria headed toward the Aztec god.

The battle continued for a long time.

Without rest or sleep, Ria kept cutting down enemies.

Since becoming a dragon, Ria's physical abilities had risen explosively. She did not tire even after staying awake for days on end. Even without resting, her stamina recovered on its own.

Even so, mental fatigue could still cause her concentration to waver.

A one-eyed old man hurled a spear at her. Even when Ria dodged, it freely pursued her.

When she tried to intercept it with an ordinary katana, the blade shattered. Ria drew Gallach and destroyed the spear.

Then she pierced that god's heart with Gallach, causing him to disperse into the atmosphere.

"That was Odin, the chief god of Norse mythology. Which means…"

From another direction, a giant god appeared.

It was an enormous wolf that seemed to reach the heavens. A godslayer from Norse mythology.

"Fenrir…"

"I've heard that name somewhere."

Shouldering Gallach, Ria flew toward the giant wolf.

The battle with Fenrir lasted three days and three nights.

Meanwhile, Carla and Serge dealt with the weaker mysteries that attacked.

Ria pierced the heart of the wolf that had finally collapsed from exhaustion, somehow claiming victory.

"That was a tough one…"

Even Ria's recovery could not keep up. It was comparable to an elder dragon—or perhaps even stronger.

"Let's rest for a bit."

Carla said this and sat down. Ria likewise leaned her back against a wall of rubble.

"Good thing the Cthulhu Mythos gods were weak."

"What are those?"

"Gods from a story Lovecraft created in the 20th century. In the setting, they're cosmic-scale beings."

"So… on par with Valis, or even greater?"

"They were actually weak, though. After all, they were born from human imagination. I guess it depends on how much faith they've gathered?"

"Faith, huh…"

In that case, the strongest god was probably that one.

The being called simply God. The merciless one who drove humanity to the brink of extinction in the Old Testament.

"Yahweh…"

Word came in via telepathy from Ars, the Divine Dragons, and the Black Cats members. The dragons had suffered considerable casualties, but they were destroying the gods across various regions as planned.

"India's gods were quite dangerous."

Shifaka said. Indeed, the gods of India with their absurd mythology must have been powerful.

They gathered at the location where China once stood, and the Machine Gods and flesh-and-blood warriors discussed the situation.

Black Cat members were missing. Neither Azel nor Shana were present.

"We lost four of ours. Fortunately, the pilots managed to escape."

Ars made no effort to hide his exhaustion. Perhaps he was thinking about the two who were absent. About those who had once fought alongside him as heroes.

"Have we cleaned up most of the famous ones?"

Thor was using his battered greatsword as a cane. Though it could be called a holy sword, its edge had gradually chipped away from cutting through the bodies of gods.

The dragons continued to dance leisurely through the sky, mopping up the minor gods.

Devouring angels, devouring devils. Like gods of gluttony.

"Where do we go next?"

Ria asked Ars. Within this group, Ars held something of a leader position.

"We've mostly cleaned up, so the biggest one should be appearing soon. Probably at a level that even elder dragons cannot defeat."

Earth's dragons were weak compared to the dragons of their world. Even fighting in the flesh, the warriors present would not be outmatched.

"Let's leave the small fry to the dragons and go after the final boss."

"Final boss?"

In response to Shifaka's question, Ars answered.

"The monotheistic god that the most people on Earth believe in. Probably no one but the Divine Dragons can defeat it."

"The god of Christianity, huh…"

Thor heaved a heavy sigh.

"Were you Christian, by any chance?"

"No, nothing like that… but isn't that also the god of Islam and Judaism?"

Since they shared the same origin texts, of course that was the case.

"With science having advanced, the power of faith has waned. I think we can win with this lineup."

Besides, even considering the power of faith, the war between dragons and gods had already drastically reduced Earth's population. There probably were not even a billion people left.

By "this lineup," Ars meant the three from Ogres—Ria, Carla, and Serge—plus the Black Cats' Shifaka, Thor, and Alvis. And Ars himself.

Ohma and Terru were maintaining the barrier to prevent Earth's gods from crossing over to their world. Lana was in reserve, and Valis was storing up mana.

"Once we defeat that one, we can leave the rest to Valis. Now then, shall we head to the final battle?"

Speaking lightly, Ars boarded his Machine God. It was a custom-made model just for him.

The Machine God Serge had been piloting was a mass-produced model with almost no mana left in its magic core.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to retire here. Nee-chan, Carla-san, I'll give you this."

Saying this, Serge removed a small magic core from the Machine God. It was a crystal of mana that could be used as a bomb or have its mana extracted for recovery.

In this case, however, a spell had already been prepared for activation.

"Super Acceleration. Use it when you need it most."

And with that, Serge teleported back to Manesh along with the depleted Machine God.

"We're down one person. Think we'll be alright?"

"Who knows? If worst comes to worst, we can ask the Divine Dragons for backup."

Ria's concern was reasonable, but Ars answered lightly.

"The gods we've faced so far were quite strong, but considering the number of believers this one has, there's no comparison."

"Well, we won't know until we fight. Let's keep a strategic retreat as an option if things go south."

With the wounded treated, the group finally set off for their destination.

"By the way… if God appears, where do you think it will be?"

Ria directed the question at Thor. The hero from two thousand years ago.

"Where…? The Vatican, wouldn't it?"

"I don't think so."

It was Ars who answered. Though he had been summoned at age fifteen, his knowledge exceeded Thor's.

"Jerusalem."

Ria agreed. That was the birthplace of the legends of God.

The group took flight using flight magic.

Those in their physical bodies rode on Ars's Machine God to conserve as much mana as possible.

Before long, something came into view on the horizon—a pillar of light piercing the sky.

No, it was not a pillar. It only looked that way, though one could count it as such.

"It's huge…"

Thor said with admiration.

A giant of light that penetrated the clouds. That was the form of the last remaining god.

"I'll strike first!"

Thor charged ahead and raised his holy sword.

His slash could shatter mountains, yet it was absorbed into the light and vanished.

"Seal Release."

Armor fell away from Ars's Machine God, revealing a divine body within.

Ria also gripped Gallach tightly and transformed into a dragon.

The final battle had begun.